OK, do you want the affordable (er, somewhat affordable) lounge chairs first or the astronomical designs with jaw-dropping prices? We’ll do affordable first, starting with an icon of Mid-century design: the 670 lounge chair and 671 ottoman designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller. Of course, these chairs can fetch upwards of $5,000 […]

One of the hottest categories of antiques on today’s market is folk art. Though very broadly defined, the term “folk art” generally refers to individual creations by untrained or self-taught artists. From naïve, 19th-century paintings to whimsical sculptures from the late 20th century, good folk art has an inherent charm that, in recent years, has […]

When the original art for a famous book illustration comes up for auction, I’m always curious. Where has it been? Why is it now being sold? Will a museum or benefactor buy it, so that the public will be able to enjoy it? Or will it just disappear into a private home? Often, book illustrations […]

If you’ve recently stepped into a comic book store for the first time, or the first time in a long time, you may have noticed; they don’t just sell comics anymore. Like any good hobby, the comic collecting business understands the importance of merchandising, which is why you can find your favorite heroes on everything […]

Those of us over a “certain age” have seen format wars come and go: VHS vs. Betamax; 8-track vs. cassette; Apple Mac vs. IBM DOS; Blue-Ray vs. High-Definition video. Each of these technologies served the consumer in a similar way. Each format required compatible hardware in order to make its “software” work; Betamax tapes couldn’t […]

The mad scramble by Western entrepreneurs and businessmen to “get into the China market” leaves visible scorch marks across the globe that are probably so pronounced they can be seen from outer space. But the Chinese didn’t build the Great Wall for nothing—the Middle Kingdom has always been insular and, in many ways, still is. […]

Almost any time I mention to someone that I dig for antique bottles, the first words out of their mouths is something along the lines of: “… you’re kidding! Well, as a matter of fact, one time we were digging a hole for a new water pipe behind our house and the back hoe started […]

How many times have you read the report of an auction somewhere and the price quoted on some article just didn’t seem reasonable; either way too high or way too low? Or have you walked into a shop or show and asked yourself, “where do they get off asking that kind of money for that […]

One of the best reasons to travel America’s highways and byways is to see things we can’t see anywhere else. Sometimes we’re driving long distances to visit relatives; sometimes for work, and, when we’re lucky, we’re on vacation, motoring to an enjoyable destination. As the Independence Day holiday is fast approaching, and many Americans will […]

Countries around the world have routinely changed their flag colors or designs to correspond to political upheaval, independence or because, well, they just can. No country’s flag, however, has undergone more changes over its history than that of the United States of America. The reason? Stars were added to the flag every time a new […]